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Unusual presentation of more common disease/injury
CASE REPORT
A migratory shark bone
  1. Elizabeth Mathew1,
  2. Tharsika Myuran2,
  3. Hoi-Yi Ching3
  1. 1ENT Department, Wexham Park Hospital, Wexham Park, UK
  2. 2Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital, Basildon, UK
  3. 3Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, Harlow, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Tharsika Myuran, tharsika{at}doctors.org.uk

Summary

Fish bone ingestion is a common presentation in ENT. If not managed correctly, it can cause serious complications for the patient and dilemmas for the clinician. A 49-year-old Sri Lankan woman presented to the emergency department following shark bone ingestion with a ‘pricking’ sensation in her throat. After initial investigation, the bone migrated through to the sternocleidomastoid muscle. After surgical removal of the shark bone she went on to develop a large neck collection, which required surgical drainage. The careful attention to the patient’s history and use of imaging facilitated treatment in this case of fish bone ingestion and management of the sequelae.

  • ear, nose and throat/otolaryngology
  • accidents, injuries
  • radiology
  • head and neck surgery
  • otolaryngology / ent

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2017-220066

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors EM: reporting of the case and literature review. TM: conception and design, acquisition of patient data and images. H-YC: supervision of case and write up; acquisition of images.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent Obtained.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.